The Bulb

Q & A with Mary Crowley, Director of Public Affairs and Communications, The Hasting Center

“Corey was a superb listener, which is crucial in understanding the culture of an organization and its stakeholders in order to create a successful product. The creative brief Corey prepared reflected that careful listening and in fact was almost like a branding effort for Hastings and its new consumer effort, Help with Hard Questions.”

Q&A with Maura Smith, Director of Development, Lowell Community Health Center

“In large-scale organizations, there are often so many different points of view but COREY helped us come to consensus in a way that made everyone feel heard and respected.” Maura Smith, Director of Development and External Affairs, Lowell Community Health Center

1. You knew COREY from the independent school world and you ventured into the critical world of community health. Why did decide to hire COREY for LCHC’s very important brand debut?

Valentines’ Thoughts from the folks that bring you Thoughtful Branding and Design

From the hearts, hands and eyes of those who make up COREY, take a look at some of our thoughtful remembrances of Valentine’s Day.

“For my first Valentine’s Day with my now-husband — a model train collector — I randomly purchased a book about the history of passenger locomotives. The bookstore didn’t have a vast selection of train books; I think I had a choice of three. Having known him for all of 6 weeks, I was not aware of his extensive book collection, nor of his specific interests. I was simply picking out a “train book.”

5 Things We Like About Movember

Clearly, I have been missing much since 2003 since I only heard about Movember this month. Movember began in 2003 by a bunch of inspired (and brilliant) Australians. Movember is an international movement to bring attention to men’s health issues, mainly prostate and other men’s cancers through individuals growing mustaches.

Q & A with Conall Ryan, Publishing Veteran

“What keeps me coming back to Corey is the individual brilliance of the players, the depth and breadth of skills sets in the company, and the consistently excellent quality of your work”. Conall Ryan

Conall Ryan has worked with Corey throughout his illustrious career in publishing, awarding the Corey team with challenging interactive projects for Houghton Mifflin, McGraw Hill and Reader’s Digest.

Corey’s FutureM event – Sprezzatura

Last night, we hosted provocative, engaging and thoughtful discussions around Sprezzatura. Sprezzatura as Castiglione defined it is “…to practice in all things a certain sprezzatura [nonchalance], so as to conceal all art and make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.”

Corey’s spin on Sprezzatura was in full play with stations conducted by:

People Rule

In today’s shared-brand economy, people rule. And it’s about time. The rules of engagement have fundamentally changed. The line between people and brand is blurred now more than ever. The opportunity to be yourself and beyond yourself has arrived.

It’s our world. It’s our time. It’s our experience.

Sprezzatura

When discussing new technologies with clients and peers I often hear the importance of not building “technology for technology’s sake”. I agree that this should be prevented but I prefer to think positively and speak about how we want technology to work instead of how we don’t want it to work. In doing this, I use the word Sprezzatura.

Write From the Start: Functional Online Writing

A New York Times article recently revealed that Groupon employs over 400 writers and editors to produce the humorous sales pitches that move their discounted wares. Banter such as “Like the seedpod of the sacred lotus, golf courses are filled with holes and cause feelings of euphoria when chewed” is intended to capture the attention of online shoppers. In the crowded “deal-of-the-day” space, Groupon is betting that their heavy investment in the creation and craft of words, and their unique voice, will put them at the top of the heap.

Often, when we begin brainstorming a new online experience for web or mobile, the first things our clients talk about are functionality, architecture and design. Copy and voice are recognized as important aspects of the brand, but most people feel it can be slotted in later in the process, even after the site is completed. But the words we select and craft play as important a role in the function of a site as the backend code.

Q & A with Xigo’s VP of Marketing, Tim Eckles

“We wanted to be clear about being innovative, about identifying ourselves as a Saas in an old space (telecom expense management), and play up ideas about ease, immediacy, and the freemium experience. Corey helped us identify how to navigate the whole Xigo experience-from offline to online. You gave us our story.” Tim Eckles, Vice President of Marketing, Xigo

Xigo, previously know as Invoice Insight, selected the team of experts at Corey to create a comprehensive rebranding strategy and tactical program to bring the Xigo brand to life. Corey’s team was tasked with helping Xigo broaden its customer base and differentiate itself in the TEM marketplace.